The fashion industry is complicated and won’t be changed overnight, but there’s a couple of simple things we can start doing today that will actually help.

You probably know that the fashion industry is bad for our planet. But how and why exactly? Here’s the top 3 reasons:

1. The fashion industry is the second largest emitter of co2 after the oil sector. It is responsible for 10% of global carbon emissions, more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.
2. It causes 20% of the global industrial wastewater problem. In many of the countries that produce textiles, factories dump their wastewater with toxic substances such as lead, mercury, and arsenic, directly into the rivers. This is extremely harmful for the aquatic life and for the people living there. The pollution also reaches the sea and eventually spreads around the globe.
3. The plastic microfibers in synthetic fabrics such as polyester and nylon end up in the environment through the washing machine or when textiles are thrown away. Plastic particles washed off from synthetic clothes contribute up to 35% of the plastic that is polluting our oceans.

Although the fashion industry is complicated and won’t be changed overnight, there’s a couple of simple things we can start doing today that will actually help, such as:

• Choose clothes made in countries with stricter environmental regulations such as the EU, Canada and the US.
• Look for fibers that don’t need chemicals to be produced such as organic cotton & linen, and tencel.